Internal Hemorrhoids Treatment

Posted by admin

August 22, 2008

Internal hemorrhoids are those that are inside the anal cavity and are harder to detect. Unless the symptons are evident like bleeding after bowel movement, then we won’t even know it’s there. When there’s bleeding, there might some blood on the stool or in the toilet bowl. Pain, itchiness and irritation around the rectal area are the other symptoms.

For minor symptoms, these treatments are enough to relieve discomfort and will eventually heal the hemorrhoids:

Take a warm sitz bath for at least 15-20 minutes for 3 to 4 times daily. It’s easiest to do this when you have a special plastic sitz tub which. They are readily available in leading drug stores or large pharmacies for around $10. As an alternative, you can also use a bath tub or a shallow pan to take this bath.

Eat high fiber foods such as green leafy vegetables and oats to make the stools softer. This will reduce the pressure on the rectal area which will reduce bleeding. If you’re not into eating a lot of fiber rich foods, you might want to take fiber supplements instead. Several of these supplements are available commercially like Metamucil, Citrucel and Fibercon.

Over the counter suppositories and creams can help relieve some symptoms. However, they are mostly for temporary relief.

For severe cases, these non-surgical treatment procedures may be recommended by your doctor:

Rubber Band Ligation
This is the most effective non-operative treatment for internal hemorrhoids. A small rubber band is tied around the base of the hemorrhoid. Blood circulation in that area is cut off and within 7 to 10 days, the hemorrhoid will painlessly fall off during bowel movement. Only one hemorrhoid is treated at a time so if you have more than one, you need to have additional treatments.

Injection Sclerotherapy
A chemical solution is injected into the base of the internal hemorrhoids or the area around it. The chemical will inflame and close the veins, it will then shrink the hemorrhoid permanently.

Heat Coagulation
In this procedure, heat is used to kill the internal hemorhoids and promote inflammation and scarring.

Cryotherapy
Totally opposite compared to heat coagulation, cryotherapy uses cold temperature to inflame and scar the hemorrhoids. It’s more time consuming and is associated with more post treatment pain.

Surgical procedures are also available, if other treatment options did not work.

Hemorrhoidectomy
Hemorrhoids are surgically removed using a scalpel or laser. General,local or spinal anesthesia will be administered to the paitent prior to the procedure.

Internal hemorrhoids treatment vary depending on the severeness the problem is. Taking a sitz bath or adding more fiber in your diet will easily treat the hemorrhoids if they’re in the early stages. Medical procedures should only be considered if there’s severe pain or the symptoms won’t stop using the conservative methods. The earlier you determine that you have internal hemorrhoids, the bigger the chance that you can treat them.